Reid, Francis William (Frank)

Francis William (Frank) Reid was born on 12 August 1888 in Saint John, New Brunswick. His parents Charles Francis Reid and Mary Elizabeth Savage were both born in New Brunswick, marrying on 1 November 1887 in Newcastle. At some point after Frank’s birth the family moved to Rat Portage (later renamed Kenora) in northwestern Ontario where Charles Sr found work as a railroad brakeman. Children born in Rat Portage were Mary Adell (1890), Charles (1893), and William John (1896). At the time of the 1901 census for Rat Portage Mary, listed as a widow, was living with the children and taking in boarders, Savage family members. By 1904 the family had moved to Winnipeg where Mary gave birth to son Cummings Patrick that March. For the 1906 census Charles Sr was once again listed with the family, while in 1911, although her marital status was given as married, he was not with Mary and the children. At the time of the census Frank was working as a barber, Charles in the CIR shops and William as a caller for CIR/City, CIR likely a railway. The next year Mary Adell married Philip Neil. By the 1916 census Mary was once again listed as a widow, with other household members being barbers Frank and Charles, Cummings, and Mary’s brother Patrick. Frank was also listed as incarcerated in the Selkirk prison in the Selkirk census. William was overseas.

By 1918 Frank was married and living in Regina, Saskatchewan. His wife Eva Lillian Bell was born in 1900 in North Dakota. Her father David Bell was from Scotland while her mother Ellen Jane Haddock was from the Township of Cartwright, Durham, Ontario where the couple married in 1888. Shortly after the 1891 census they had moved to North Dakota, farming in the Saint Thomas/Carlisle area. The family moved back to Canada in December of 1910

With the onset of conscription in the latter part of the war, Frank signed his recruitment papers on 30 August 1918 in Regina and was assigned to the 1st Depot Battalion Saskatchewan Regiment. His occupation was given as barber, and his wife Eva who was living with his mother in Winnipeg as next of kin. It appears that a short time later Eva moved back to Regina. The same day that he attested Frank was admitted to the VD Hospital in Regina (vdg) for the next 67 days. In early October he was fined five days pay for breaking out of the hospital and being away without leave for a day. Returning, he was discharged from the hospital on 5 November. Eight days later he was admitted to the Parish Hall Hospital in Regina with a mild case of influenza, discharged on the 20th. With the end of the war Frank was discharged from service on demobilization on 7 December 1918 in Regina.

Frank’s brother William enlisted with the Canadian Army Medical Corps at Shorncliffe in May of 1915 and served in France with the 13th Canadian Field Ambulance, discharged in Winnipeg on 1 July 1919. His brother Charles enlisted in Winnipeg with the 223rd Battalion in early March of 1917. A medical condition saw him transferred to the Manitoba Regimental Depot once in England where he was employed as a barber before returning to Canada with his war bride in March of 1918 where he was discharged from service as medically unfit.

Little is known about Frank’s life after the war. At the time of the 1921 census he was living in Edmonton and working as a barber. Frank and Eva had given birth to three children, Earl in 1919 in Saskatchewan and twins Madeline and Viola ten days before the taking of the census. At some point Frank and Eva moved to Quebec. Living in the Westmount area in Montreal, Frank died on 17 April 1955. His mother Mary Elizabeth died in 1934, brother William in 1950, brother Charles in 1960, all in Winnipeg, brother Cummings in 1967 in Riverside, California, and sister Mary Adell Neil in 1968 in Winnipeg. As recorded in his brother Charles service record, their father was deceased by 1917. Frank was cremated via Mount Royal Crematorium in Montreal, disposition of ashes unknown.

By Judy Stockham